LIBRARY 


OF    THE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


172. 


THE  WRITER'S  BLUE 

BOOK 


A   USEFUL    MANUAL 
FOR    ALL    WHO     WRITE, 
PARTICULARLY     FOR     EDITORS, 
REPORTERS,   PROOF-READERS,   TYPE- 
WRITERS, CLERKS,  BUSINESS  HOUSES,  SECRE- 
TARIES OF  COMPANIES,  CLUBS,  AND  LIKE  BODIES. 
RULES     FOR    THE     USE     OF     CAPITAL    LETTERS 
RULES    OF    PUNCTUATION,    ERRORS    OF 
SPEECH  CORRECTED,  A  DICTION- 
ARY OF  READY  REFERENCE, 
AND   A  COMPLETE 
INDEX. 


BY 

AN    EDITOR 


FRANCISCO 

CROWN     PUBLISHING^     CO. 


GENERAL 


COPYRIGHT,    1OO2 

BY 

CROWN    PUBLISHING    COMPANY 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

To  all  who  write  7 

I.  How  to  write  clearly  10 

II.  Use  of  words  and  phrases  17 

III.  Punctuation  32 

IV.  Concerning  style-codes  45 

V.  The  Maritime  World  code  49 

VI.  How  rules  are  often  violated  61 

VII.  Dictionary  of  capitals  63 

VIII.  Forms  of  address  77 
Alphabetical  index                _____  80 


105884 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 


PREFACE. 

THIS  HANDBOOK  is  for  all  who  write  the  English 
language.  It  has  been  prepared,  however,  with 
special  reference  to  the  needs  of  editors,  typewriters, 
clerks,  and  persons  in  charge  of  correspondence  for  busi- 
ness houses.  Country  editors,  it  is  believed,  will  find 
the  work  of  great  value. 

Language  and  printing  have  undergone  many  changes 
during  the  last  twenty  years.  This  manual  gives  the 
usage  of  such  high-class  magazines  as  the  Century,  and 
offers  helpful  suggestions  concerning  that  which  few 
schools  teach — the  art  of  preparing  copy  for  printers. 
It  so  chances  that  this  information  is  exactly  what  type- 
writers and  others  who  write  ought  to  master. 

With  such  a  guide  the  reader  will  have  the  satisfaction 
of  the  highest  authority — the  Century,  Theodore  L.  De 
Vinne,  Teall,  Moon,  and  others — for  the  style  of  his 
compositions. 

October,  1902.  THE  EDITOR. 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 


TO   ALL  WHO  WRITE. 

CALL  THE  RULES  and  principles 
announced  in  this  little  book  original 
would  be  as  misleading  as  if  the  compiler 
of  a  treatise  on  arithmetic  should  pretend 
to  be  the  author  of  the  multiplication  table. 
In  a  wider  sense,  however,  every  person 
who  exhibits  old  things  in  a  new  light  may 
be  said  to  be  original.  Under  these  terms 
this  volume  is  the  author's  production. 

After  more  than  twenty  years'  experi- 
ence as  editor,  author,  proof-reader,  and 
corrector  of  the  manuscript  of  others,  I  am 
compelled  to  say  that  few  people,  even 
among  professional  newspaper  writers  and 
authors,  follow  any  definite  or  consistent 
style  or  system  in  the  preparation  of  man- 
uscripts. The  columns  of  newspapers 
abound  in  gross  errors  of  grammar,  the 

(7) 


'  The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

writings  of  public  men  often  are  crude, 
and  the  letters  of  many  representative 
business  houses  exhibit  such  shocking 
ignorance  of  the  English  language  that 
one  wonders  whether  the  knack  of  correct 
writing  is  not  becoming  a  lost  art. 

In  a  highly  critical  sense  no  writing  is 
free  from  errors.  Great  scholars  that 
have  hired  corps  of  critical  proof-readers 
to  perfect  their  works  often  have  been 
made  to  blush  for  their  printed  pages;  but 
the  accuracy  required  in  the  business  of 
every  day  should  be  far  greater  than  it  is 
now.  A  careful  study  of  elementary  prin- 
ciples would  add  to  the  correctness  of  the 
world's  work. 

It  is  believed  that  many  of  the  grosser 
errors  abounding  in  the  work  of  editors, 
stenographers,  correspondence  clerks,  and 
others  may  be  avoided  by  observing  the 
principles  set  forth  in  this  little  com- 
pendium. A  study  of  these  pages  will 
put  the  reader  in  touch  with  the  style 
prevalent  among  the  most  careful  and  cul- 
tured authors  and  publishers  of  the  day. 
Modern  methods  have  wrought  some 
changes  in  the  rules  of  grammar  and 
rhetoric;  but  there  are  many  reasons  for 
most  of  them,  and  the  person  who  desires 
to  be  abreast  of  the  times  must  work  by 
system.  By  keeping  the  BLUE  BOOK 
within  reach  it  will  be  easy  to  solve  many 
puzzling  problems  of  grammar  and  usage. 

(8) 


The   Writer's   Blue   Book 

A  complete  cross-index  at  the  end  of  the 
volume  adds  to  its  value,  quick  reference 
saving  time. 

Typewriters  and  others  whose  business 
is  the  writing  of  letters  and  legal  docu- 
ments should  master  everything  in  this 
volume  so  thoroughly  that  they  can  readily 
paraphrase  its  rules  in  concise  English  of 
their  own. 

A  thorough  understanding  of  the  system 
of  capitalizing  here  explained  means  the 
mastery  of  a  correct  and  consistent  method 
in  one's  work.  To  be  able  to  solve  ques- 
tions without  hesitation  will  certainly  add 
to  the  value  of  every  writer's  and  every 
typewriter's  services. 

It  is  not  pretended  that  this  volume  will 
take  the  place  of  treatises  on  grammar  and 
rhetoric,  but  it  is  believed  that  it  is  a  more 
practical  desk-book  than  any  manual  now 
extant.  Its  character  is  fully  indicated  by 
the  name  manual,  a  book  small  enough  for 
handy  reference.  It  is  hoped  that  famili- 
arity with  its  contents  will  add  to  the 
efficiency  of  every  writer's  manuscripts,  be 
they  editorials  or  sermons,  letters  or  law- 
yers' briefs. 

It  is  hoped  that  thousands  of  desk-toilers 
will  discover  that  this  modest  little  com- 
pendium will  prove  a  clear-voiced  and  wel- 
come companion,  lightening  their  burdens, 
improving  their  work,  and  adding  to  the 
value  of  their  services. 


(9) 


The   Writer's   Blue   Book 


I. 
HOW  TO  WRITE   CLEARLY. 

I.  The  Blue  Pencil,  Since  grammar  and 
rhetoric  are  to  language  what  harmony 
and  symphony  are  to  music,  every  writer 
should  see  that  his  sentences  are  in  tune. 
Whatever  is  written  should  be  written 
well,  be  it  an  advertisement  or  a  book,  a 
letter  or  a  trade  circular.  He  who  writes 
carelessly  is  treading  on  dangerous  ground, 
if  he  desires  to  convey  his  exact  meaning. 
It  is  an  excellent  rule  to  revise  everything 
you  write.  But  perfection  is  out  of  the 
question,  as  a  writer  in  'Vulgarisms  and 
Other  Errors  of  Speech"  has  aptly  said  in 
the  following  words: 

V 

If  any  one  supposes  that  he  shall  ever  be  able  to  write 
perfectly   correct  English  let  him  disabuse  his  mind  of 

V* 

(10) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

the  idea.  The  shallow  critic  is  the  only  person  who  is 
sure  that  he  can  reach  perfection  in  the  art.  *  *  * 
Many  able  and  great  writers  are  not  correct  writers; 
many  correct  writers  are  neither  able  nor  great. 

The  blue  pencil  has  saved  countless 
authors  their  laurels,  many  business  men 
their  money,  and  millions  of  written  things 
from  the  waste-basket.  It  insures  greater 
clarity  and  brevity,  often  grace  and  finish. 
Every  well-edited  newspaper,  magazine, 
book,  and  printed  speech  (if  printed  cor- 
rectly) would  be  spotted  with  blue  marks 
if  one  could  but  see  the  original.  The  blue 
pencil  is  the  writer's  chief  guaranty  of 
reasonable  accuracy,  his  only  insurance 
policy.  Do  you  use  it  in  your  work? 

2.  Tlie  Blue  Pencil  Popular,  It  was  the  im- 
mortal Macaulay  who  said  that  easy  writ- 
ing makes  hard  reading.  It  was  his  in- 
variable custom  to  revise  his  own  work 
from  three  to  ten  times.  Do  you  know 
that  the  best  writers  in  the  world  have 
always  relied  upon  the  blue  pencil?  If  the 
publishers  of  newspapers,  magazines,  and 
books  consider  blue-penciling  essential  to 
success,  can  anybody  else  hope  to  write 
or  publish  readable  circulars,  pamphlets, 
etc.,  without  careful  revision? 

Can  a  young  woman  who  earns  her  liv- 
ing by  typewriting  hope  to  become  efficient 
without  giving  attention  to  the  principles 
of  correct  composition  ?^  Can  _  a  private 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

secretary  increase  his  skill  more  effectively 
than  by  mastering  those  principles  that 
will  enable  him  to  burnish  his  work  and 
prevent  his  employer  from  making 
blunders?  Can  an  editor  make  his  paper 
typographically  clean  and  accurate,  con- 
cise and  consistent,  unless  he  follows  the 
style-card?  But  it  is  a  lamentable  fact 
that  many  educated  men  and  women,  even 
professional  writers,  are  often  singularly 
earless  in  their  work.  Even  the  immortal 
Charles  Dickens  said,  in  a  speech  delivered 
in  London,  in  1837: 

1  I  have  never  gone  through  the  sheets  of  any  book 
that  I  have  writen  without  having  had  presented  to  me 
by  the  corrector  of  the  press  something  that  I  have  over- 
looked, some  inconsistency  into  which  I  have  fallen, 
some  lapse  I  have  made. 

If  the  correctors  of  others'  work  can 
teach  the  Dickenses  of  the  world,  there  is 
certainly  reason  to  suppose  that  a  bright 
stenographer's  touch  may  prove  valuable 
in  correcting  the  written  work  sent  forth 
from  busy  offices  by  busy  people.  Even 
in  the  many  classes  of  dictated  correspond- 
ence that  often  must  be  typed  verbatim, 
the  operator's  judgment  is  absolute  in  the 
wide  field  of  punctuation,  capitalizing,  and 
the  compounding  of  words.  The  type- 
writer's or  the  printer's  jurisdiction  in 
punctuation  alone  frequently  determines 
the  life  or  death  of  sentences,  gives  sense 

(12) 


The   Writer's   Blue   Book 

and  meaning  to  language,  and  makes  a 
record  for  the  operator.  Many  sentences 
would  be  meaningless  without  punctuation. 
Try  to  read  the  following,  and  you  will  see 
just  what  is  meant; 

That  that  is  is  that  that  is  not  is  not. 

But  every  word  is  clothed  with  meaning 
when  the  sentence  is  punctuated  for  sense, 
thus: 

That  that  is,  is;  that  that  is  not,  is  not. 

The  example  just  cited  is  an  extreme  one, 
selected  for  emphatic  illustration.  It  is  to 
written  speech  what  "the  wind  ceaseth 
and  the  wave  dismisseth  us  all"  is  to  vocal 
utterance.  These  examples  illustrate  the 
prime  rule  that  great  care  should  be  taken 
to  make  sentences  convey  a  clear  meaning. 

3.  Superfluous  Words,  It  is  a  prevalent 
error  to  overload  sentences  by  making 
them  carry  unnecessary  adjectives,  ifs, 
buts,  howevers,  exceptions,  parenthetical 
clauses,  and  time-worn  phrases  that 
weaken  the  composition  and  tire  the 
reader.  It  is  a  good  rule  to  keep  subject, 
predicate,  and  object  in  as  logical  a  re- 
lationship as  possible.  In  ordinary  busi- 
ness letters  and  other  plain  statements 
there  is  little  reason  for  digression.  Make 
your  sentences  direct  and  clear.  Write  to 

(13) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

the  point,  and  stop  when  you  reach  it, 
designating  that  stop  by  a  period,  a  ques- 
tion mark,  or  an  exclamation  point.  The 
story  of  that  sentence  is  then  ended,  the 
job  complete.  Though  this  method  some- 
times gives  the  appearance  of  abruptness, 
it  is  better  so  than  if  '  'ambiguity  and  long- 
windedness  should  cumber  the  earth. ' 

High  forms  of  literary  effort  are  often  ex- 
pressed in  the  direct  and  simple  way  here 
advocated  for  ordinary  letters  and  compo- 
sition. Here  are  two  examples  that  show 
the  advantage  of  telling  a  story  by  a  few 
clear  sentences,  without  interrupting  the 
main  current  of  the  narrative: 

(a)  From  the  opening  of  Robert  Louis  Stevenson's 
"Kidnapped": — I  will  begin  the  story  of  my  adventures 
with  a  certain  morning  in  the  month  of  June,  the  year  of 
grace  1751 ,  when  I  took  the  key  for  the  last  time  out  of  the 
door  of  my  father's  house.     The  sun  began  to  shine  upon 
the  summit  of  the  hills  as  I  went  down  the  road;  and  by 
the  time   I  had  come   as  far  as  the  manse  the  blackbirds 
were  whistling  in  the   garden   lilacs,  and  the  mist  that 
hung  around  the  valley  in  the  time  of  the  dawn  was  be- 
ginning to  arise  and  die  away. 

(b)  From    the    opening    of    Leigh    H.  Irvine's  "An 
Affair  in   the   South  Seas": — When  I  saw  Atollia  first,  I 
neither  knew   nor  guessed  how   great  a  part  it  was  to 
play  in  my  life.     The  air  was  tropical,  the  sun  bright, 
the  sky  ripe  with  the  colors  of  afternoon.     I  had  been 
for  years  in   the  fogs  of  San  Francisco,  struggling  hard 
to  succeed  at  the  bar,  but  the  outlook  was  discouraging. 
Here    was    a  promising  field  of  life;  the  prospect    was 
wild  and  pleasing — and  the  sight  of  a  new  world  after 
many  weeks  at  sea  set  my  pulses  leaping. 

(14) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

It  is  an  excellent  practice  to  clip  an  arti- 
cle from  a  newspaper,  paste  it  on  a  sheet 
of  legal  cap,  then  note  errors  on  the  mar- 
gins. Cut  out  useless  and  improper  words, 
and  substitute  concise  and  effective  words 
and  clauses  for  those  rejected. 

It  is  an  error  to  use  commonplace  ex- 
pressions. People  fall  into  this  habit 
readily,  and  it  is  hard  to  avoid  the  fault. 
Expressions  that  have  had  no  rest  since 
Noah  went  into  the  Ark  should  have  a  long 
holiday. 

Two  examples  of  gross  carelessness  are 
noted  in  passing,  the  first  from  an  evening 
newspaper  of  San  Francisco,  the  second 
from  its  competitor: 

1.  Attorney   Heggerty,    who    with   Attorney    Knight 
WERE  the  ATTORNEYS  of  the  late  Charles  L.  Fair,  searched 
for  the  will. 

2.  The  money  is  contributed  mainly  by  grafters  who 
have  designs  on  THE  SPRECKELS'  leg. 

There  is  a  shameful  confusion  of  the 
subject  of  the  sentence  in  the  first  ex- 
ample. In  the  haste  and  carelessness  of 
composition,  proof-reading,  etc.,  the  fact 
that  Heggerty  was,  is  wholly  overlooked. 

In  the  second  example  the  author  evi- 
dently thought  he  was  using  the  word 
Spreckels'  in  the  possessive  case  (but  it 
should  have  been  written  Spreckels's,  if 
that  was  the  idea) ;  he  did  not  know  that 

(15) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

the  noun  Spreckels  qualifies  the  noun  leg. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  when  the 
definite  article  the  precedes  a  noun  used  in 
the  sense  written  in  the  foregoing  it  is  an 
error  to  use  the  possessive  sign.  In  such 
sentences  the  noun  is  used  as  an  adjective 


(16) 


The   Writer's   Blue   Book 


II. 
USE  OF  WORDS  AND  PHRASES. 

4.    The  Articles  and  Clarity,   A,  an,  and  the 

are  known  as  articles.  They  are  used  to 
define  the  application  of  nouns,  and  great 
care  should  be  exercised  to  repeat  them  in 
sentences  where  repetition  is  necessary. 
Examples:  "A  black  and  red  cow"  means 
one  cow  of  two  colors.  If  two  cows  are 
meant,  * 'a  black  and  a  red  cow"  should  be 
written.  In  other  sentences  of  general 
meaning,  as,  "I  am  persecuted  to  the 
death,"  it  is  not  proper  to  use  the  article, 
because  death  generally  is  meant. 

By  the  day  is  better  than  per  day;  ten 
cents  a  bushel  is  better  than  per  bushel. 
Skip  per  whenever  it  is  possible  to  do  so. 

(17) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

It  is  well  to  avoid  foreign  words  or  ab- 
breviations. 

The  definite  article  a  can  not  be  put  be- 
fore a  plural  noun,  even  if  a  singular  noun 
should  intervene;  for  which  reason  the  ex- 
pression, "I  saw  a  house  and  gardens"  is 
incorrect.  A  gardens?  Never!  In  this 
connection  it  should  be  said  that  a  and  an 
are  merely  other  forms  of  one. 

5.  Singular  and  Plural  Nouns,  Much  confu- 
sion arises  at  times  because  some  nouns  of 
plural  form  are  really  singular  in  meaning. 
Instances  of  these  are:  Mathematics, 
acoustics,  metaphysics,  politics  (though 
this  is  also  plural),  physics,  news,  head- 
quarters (in  some  senses),  whereabouts, 
means  (also  plural  at  times) ,  and  molasses. 
Thus  it  is  proper  to  say:  Mathematics 
is  a  science;  metaphysics  is  ennobling; 
politics  is  warming;  physics  is  abstruse; 
news  has  come;  his  whereabouts  is  known; 
light  is  a  means  of  seeing;  means  were 
taken  to  restore  the  patient;  and  molasses 
is  injurious. 

6,  Words  Always  Plural,  The  following  words 
have  no  singular:  Annals,  aborigines, 
amends,  assets,  antipodes,  bellows,  bil- 
liards, dregs,  gallows,  tongs,  pincers, 
scales,  trousers,  whiskers,  matins,  nuptials, 
obsequies,  spectacles,  premises,  pains,  and 
scissors.  Alms,  eaves,  and  riches  are  now 

(18) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

regularly  construed  as  plural.  When  in 
doubt  concerning  the  number  of  a  noun,  it 
is  well  to  consult  the  best  dictionary  at 
hand — and  it  should  be  a  good  one,  say  the 
Century,  the  Standard,  or  Webster's  Inter- 
national. 

7,  Varying  Plurals,    Some   nouns   have  two 
plurals,  and  they  differ  in  meaning.     Care 
should   be   observed   in   the  use  of   such 
words.     Examples     are:     Brothers     (by 

blood) ,  brethern  (of  a  church  or  society) ; 
cloths  (kinds  of  cloth) ,  clothes  (garments) ; 
dies  (stamps  for  coins) ,  dice  (for  gaming) ; 
fish  (collectively),  fishes  (individuals  or 
kinds) ;  geniuses  (men  of  genius) ,  genii 
(spirits);  indexes  (to  books),  indices  (signs 
in  algebra) ;  peas  (separately) ,  pease  (col- 
lectively); pennies  (separately),  pence 
(collectively) ;  shot  (collective  balls) ,  shots 
(number  of  times  fired) . 

8,  Titles,  Figures,  etc,    There    is  good  au- 
thority for  two  ways  of  designating  the 
plural  of  names  with  titles.     One  may  say 

the  three  Miss  Browns,  or  the  three  Misses 
Brown.  The  latter  is  the  more  prevalent 
expression. 

It  is  better  to  make  the  plural  of  letters 
and  figures  by  adding  s  than  by  '5.  Thus, 
6s  and  7s  are  preferred  to  6 fs  and  7's. 

(19) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

9,  Some  Bad  Forms,  Disremember  for  do 
not  remember,  is  bad;  gotten  is  never  a 
proper  word;  use  proved,  never  proven; 
ill,  never  illly;  say  over,  never  overly;  un- 
beknown is  not  a  word;  and  you  have  a 
contemptuous  (not  contemptible)  opinion  of 
a  man  whose  conduct  is  contemptible. 

When  you  use  either  remember  that  or 
goes  with  it  as  a  correlative,  but  when  you 
use  neither,  its  companion  must  be  nor.  Not 
is  also  a  correlative  of  nor,  as:  "He  is 
not  drunk,  nor  half  drunk. "  The  rule  is 
stated  by  Mr.  G.  Washington  Moon,  in  his 
celebrated  '  'Vulgarisms  and  Other  Errors 
of  Speech/'  thus:  "Or  is  the  correlative  of 
either',  and  nor  is  the  correlative  of  neither 
and  not." 

The  following  sentences  from  the  writ- 
ings of  President  Jordan,  of  Stanford, 
illustrate  the  correct  use: 

These  addresses  are  designed,  not  especially  for  the 
theologian,  nor  for  the  layman;  not  for  the  churched 
nor  for  the  unchurched;  not  for  the  Christian,  nor  for 
the  Jew;  but  for  all  who  are  earnestly  interested  in  these 
inquiries. 

Avoid  the  use  of  commonplace  and 
slovenly  legal  phrases  in  ordinary  writing. 
Such  expressions  as  "the  said/'  "the  af ore- 
said,  "  "the  same/'  "the  above,"  "the  un- 
dersigned," and  countless  phrases  equally 
old,  should  not  be  used  in  correspond- 
ence or  ordinary  writing,  whatever  their 

(20) 


The   Writer's   Blue   Book 

place  (questionable)  in  legal  documents. 
Writers  addicted  to  these  vices  fre- 
quently leave  out  words  and  phrases,  even 
the  subjects  of  sentences,  as  in  this: 

Dear  Friend: — Went  to  theatre  last  night.  Saw 
Harry  and  mother.  All  enjoyed  play,  and  hope  to  see 
it  again. 

Such  carelessness  often  leads  to  grave 
confusion.  The  writer  is  the  only  person 
who  could  know  whose  mother  was  meant, 
or  who* 'hope  to  see  it  again/  It  would 
have  been  far  better  if  the  writer  had  said 
that  he  met  Harry  and  fits  mother,  and 
that  we  or  7  hope  to  see  the  play  again. 

10,    Discard  Abbreviations,   It  is  a  neat  and 

approved  style  to  spell  out  titles.  Doctor 
and  prof esssor  should  always  be  spelled  in 
full,  and  so  should  general,  captain,  colonel, 
major,  reverend,  and  most  other  titles  ex- 
cept Mr*  and  Mrs.  DeVinne  well  says 
that  no  form  of  carelessness  in  writing — 
not  even  the  misuse  of  capitals— so  plainly 
indicates  the  undisciplined  writer  as  the 
abuse  of  abbreviations.  The  use  of  the 
ampersand  (&)  in  the  following  sense  is 
very  frequent,  but  very  bad:  "I  went 
home  weak  &  tired."  Inst.,  prox.,  and 
ult.  are  proper  in  correspondence  and  other 
forms  of  commercial  work,  but  they  are 
out  of  place  in  more  dignified  manuscripts. 
It  is  better  to  spell  in  full  Jas.,  Jos., 

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Chas. ,  Wm. ,  Geo. ,  Thos. ,  and  like  names, 
than  to  print  them  as  here  given,  or  in  any 
other  abbreviated  form. 

It  is  proper  to  print  a.  m.  and  p.  m.  this 
way  rather  than  A.  M.  and  P.  M. ,  because 
the  capital  letters  give  the  abbreviation 
too  much  prominence. 

II.  Who  and  That,  Some  nice  distinctions 
in  aid  of  clarity  have  arisen  in  the  use  of 
"toho  and  that.  Mr.  Alfred  Ayres,  author 
of  'The  Orthoepist, "  etc.,  holds  that  'who 
and  which  are  co-ordinating  relative  pro- 
nouns, and  that  that  is  the  restrictive  rela- 
tive pronoun.  He  would  say  that  the  sen- 
tence, "I  met  the  watchman  that^  showed 
me  the  way"  is  better  than  "<who  showed 
me  the  way,"  because  more  definite,  and 
because  it  is  susceptible  of  but  one  mean- 
ing. Other  grammarians  allow  more  lati- 
tude, leaving  much  to  the  taste  of  the 
writer.  The  fact  remains,  however,  that 
that  is  nearly  always  the  proper  word  in  re- 
strictive meanings.  Its  correct  use  should 
be  mastered,  for  often  it  is  the  only  word 
that  should  be  used.  The  following  illus- 
trations— based  on  Ayres '  introduction  to 
Cobbett's  "Grammar  Without  a  Master" 
shed  light  on  this  subject: 

The  familiar  line  from  Goldsmith,  "And  fools  who 
came  to  scoff,  remained  to  pray."  Does  this  mean, 
And  the  fools  that  came,  though  they  came  to  scoff,  re- 

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mained  to  pray,  or  does  it  mean  that  some  of  the  fools 
that  came,  came  to  scoff,  and  these  remained  to  pray  ? 
Probably  the  former  is  the  meaning,  but  this  can  only 
be  conjecture.  If  the  latter  is  the  meannig,  it  is  clear 
that  the  proper  relative  to  use  is  THAT. 

Again:  "All  stenographers  WHO  are  interested  in 
capitalizing  should  buy  a  copy  of  this  book."  Does 
this  mean  that  all  stenographers  are  interested  in  capi- 
talizing, or  does  it  mean  something  more  restrictive? 
Suppose  the  sentence  were:  "All  stenographers  THAT 
are  interested,"  etc.,  could  there  be  a  doubt  of  the  mean- 
ing? 

A  careful  study  of  such  examples  will 
prove  valuable  to  the  person  desiring  to 
master  the  distinctions  set  forth  in  the  rule 
heretofore  announced. 

12,  Whose,  Of  Which,  That,  It  was  formerly 
considered  improper  to  apply  that  to  a 
human  being,  and  to  apply  whose  to  either 
animals  or  inanimate  things.  De  Quincey 
was  particularly  averse  to  any  departure 
from  this  rule.  Time  works  changes,  how- 
ever, and  we  are  now  permitted  consider- 
able latitude  in  the  use  of  these  words.  It 
is  proper  to  speak  of  '  'Mount  Shasta,  whose 
snow-crowned  peaks  are  an  inspiration, ' 
and  to  say,  "Everything  comes  to  him  that 
waits. '  Since  use  is  the  great  law  of  lan- 
guage, De  Quincey 's  strictness  must  give 
way  to  modern  custom.  Indeed,  an  ex- 
amination of  the  writings  of  illustrious 
authors  shows  that  the  periphrasis  "of 

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which "  is  avoided  very  often.  "The  fruit 
of  that  forbidden  tree,  whose  mortal  taste 
brought,"  etc.,  is  a  pretty  authoritative  ex- 
ample of  old  usage. 

13.  Double  PdSSessiveS,  Double  possessives 
(double  genitives,  more  properly)  have 
long  been  firmly  fixed  in  good  English, 
though  many  people  err  by  not  using  them. 
The  double  possessives  often  add  em- 
phasis and  prevent  ambiguity  and  non- 
sense. Sewell  says  that  such  forms  as 
hers,  ours,  yours,  and  theirs  are  really  double 
possessives,  since  they  add  the  possessive 
5  to  what  is  already  a  regular  possessive 
inflection.  Here  are  some  examples  of 
double  possessives: 

No  word  of  ours  can  describe  the  fury  of  the  conflict. — 
J.  F.  Cooper. 

That  house  of  his,  that  sister  of  mine,  that  illustration 
of  President  McKinley's — these  expressions  are  all  cor- 
rect. To  say  "that  illustration  of  President  McKinley," 
would  leave  a  question  as  to  whether  a  picture  of  Presi- 
dent McKinley  was  meant. 

Those  lectures  of  Lowell's  had  a  great  influence  with 
me. — William  Dean  Howells. 

He  wore  that  quaint  old  French  sword  of  the  com- 
modore's.— Edward  Everett  Hale. 

Those  sentences  of  Caesar's. — Froude. 

That  friend  of  Roosevelt's  talked  wildly. — Louis  F. 
Post. 

That  dog  of  Smith's  (surely  not  of  Smith  I  )  is  dead. 

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OFT 

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vc 

14,   Two  Nouns  in  the  Possessive,    When  two 

or  more  nouns  in  the  possessive  case  fol- 
low each  other  and  are  joined  by  a  con- 
junctive conjunction,  this  is  the  usage: 
Man,  woman,  and  child's  country;  Paul, 
Crow,  and  Charley's  mine. 

15,  A  Study  in  Ellipses,  Experience  con- 
firms the  statement  of  William  Cobbett's 
that  we  almost  always  leave  out  some  of 
the  words  that  are  necessary  to  the  full 
expression  of  our  meaning.  This  leaving 
out  is  called  the  ellipsis,  which  means  the 
skipping  of  a  word  that  is  understood. 
Every  writer  should  consider  the  words  he 
has  thus  omitted,  and  if  he  has  any  doubt 
he  should  fill  up  his  sentences  by  writing 
in  the  left  out  words  (for  his  own  eye 
only).  Study  the  sentence  as  it  would 
be  if  all  ellipses  were  printed.  By  keeping 
in  mind  the  understood  words  it  will  be 
easy  to  prevent  the  use  of  verbs  of  the 
wrong  number.  The  study  will  also  pre- 
vent the  use  of  the  article  a  before  plural 
nouns.  Examples: 

'My  father  is  away  and  I  seldom  at  home,"  is  a  bad 
sentence  becaus3x-is~  is  understood.  With  the  ellipsis 
supplied  it  would  run  :  "My  father  is  away  and  I  is 
seldom  at  home/'  It  should  have  been  written:  "My 
father  is  away  and  I  AM  seldom  at  home." 

"The  hospitality  of  a  Scottish  chieftain  or  Irish  noble- 
man was  not  greater  than  theirs,"  should  have  been  "or 
AN  Irish  nobleman." 

\ 

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"License  is  fixed  and  saloons  cinched"  (from  a  recent 
newspaper  headline),  should  have  been  "and  saloons 
ARE  cinched;"  otherwise  the  carrying  over  of  is  makes 
"saloons  is  cinched." 

16.  Division  Of   Words,    One  is  safe  in  ob- 
serving  the   American   rule   of   dividing 
words  at  the  end  of  the  line  according  to 
pronunciation,  rather  than  the  British  rule 
of  dividing  on  the  vowel  to  show  derivation. 
This  is  the  rule  stated  by  F.  Horace  Teall, 
who   was  one   of  the  editors  and  critical 
proof-readers  of  the  Standard  dictionary. 
The  Standard,  the  Century,  or  Webster's 
International  should  be  consulted  on  this 
subject  frequently.    Scholars  say  that  the 
Standard's  system  is  the  simplest  and  most 
complete  yet  devised.    Read  the  best  books 
and  note  the  syllabication. 

17,  The  Location  Of  Tense,    In  an  early  edi- 
tion  of   his  '  'Rhetoric/    Adam    Sherman 
Hill  gives   this   valuable   rule  concerning 
tense:    ' 'Mistakes   are   often  made  from 
neglect  of  the  principle  that  the  time  of 
the  action  recorded  in  a  subordinate  part 
of  a  sentence  is  not  absolute,  but  relative 
to  the   time   of  the  principal  clause;  and 
that,  therefore,  the  tense  of  a  dependent 
verb  is  determined  by  its  relation  to  the 
verb  on  which  it  depends.     Examples:    'I 
expected  to  have  found  him'  is  wrong;  it 


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should  be,  'to  find  him. '  So,  'to  have  writ- 
ten, should  be  'to  write/  " 

It  is  now  generally  understood  by  good 
writers  that  the  location  of  the  tense  in 
the  principal  sentence  is  sufficient;  but  it 
should  be  said  that  this  rule  is  somewhat 
recent.  In  the  works  of  Macaulay,  Defoe, 
and  others  of  their  time  are  such  sentences 
as  these: 

I    had  hoped  never  to  have  seen  [to  see]  the  statues 
again. — Macaulay. 

I  expected  every  wave  would  have  swallowed   [would 
swallow]  us  up. — Defoe. 

1 8,  Who  and  Whom,  Baskerville's  work 
on  grammar  indorses  the  expression,  4  'Who 
did  you  see?"  because  there  is  no  objec- 
tive form  in  spoken  English,  except  the 
stilted  'whom.  This  will  be  a  great  relief 
to  many  people.  Here  are  examples: 

Who  have  we  here  ? — Goldsmith. 

He  hath   given   away  half  of  his  fortune  to  the  Lord 
knows  who. — Kingsley. 

Who  the  devil  is  he  talking  to  ? — Sheridan. 

Who  have  we  got  here  ? — Smollet. 

Who  should  he  find  there  but  Eustache  ? — Marryat. 

19,    Might  is  Past  and  Present,  Never  Future, 

"He  might  see  me  next  week,'  is  not  a 
proper  expression.  Might  belongs  to  the 
past  tense.  Though  often  properly  em- 

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ployed  to  denote  the  present  tense,  it  can 
never  denote  the  future.  We  work  that 
we  may  live,  and  he  worked  that  he  might 
live. 

20.  Determining  the  Number  of  Verbs,    It  is 

proper  to  say  either,  ! 'twenty  dollars  was 
paid,"  or  ' 'twenty  dollars  were  paid/  In 
the  first  sentence  "the  sum  of"  is  implied. 
Teall  says  that  "twenty  dollars  is  logically 
singular  when  one  amount  of  money  is 
meant.'  But  many  good  writers  make 
dollars  agree  with  the  verb. 

The  expression  "one  and  one-quarter 
inches  were  measured,'  is  likewise  de- 
fended as  proper  because  the  plural  verb 
must  go  with  "one  and  something  more/ 
even  if  that  something  does  not  equal 
another  one. 

One  may  say  "ten  and  eight  is 
eighteen, "  or  '  'are  eighteen. '  The  singu- 
lar verb  implies  "the  sum  of.'  In  sen- 
tences of  this  character  the  singular  verb 
is  tolerated  simply  because  something 
singular  in  meaning  is  implied  under  the 
rules  of  logic,  and  because  use  has  sanc- 
tioned the  form. 

21,  Whether  or  Not,  Whether  or  No,    Each  of 

these  expressions  is  correct  under  certain 
conditions.  As  a  conjunction:  'Tell  us 
whether  you  are  going  or  not.'  The 
negative  alternative  (or  not)  is  often  im- 

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plied  rather  than  expressed.  As  an  ad- 
verb: "I  will  do  it,  whether  or  no.'  "She 
loved  him  whether  he  was  good  or  no.' 
In  these  examples  no  is  used  at  the  end  of 
a  sentence  or  clause  to  express  an  alterna- 
tive condition. 

22,  Had  Rather,  Would  Rather,    Since    the 

time  of  Samuel  Johnson,  grammarians  and 
good  writers  have  preferred  /  would  rather 
to  I  had  rather.  A  few  authorities  say  had 
rather  is  good. 

23,  Have  Never  Been,  Never  Have  Been,    Bain 

and  other  grammarians  prefer  have  never 
been  to  never  have  been.  One  cannot  err 
greatly,  however,  by  choosing  either  order 
of  words,  for  good  writers  vary  in  the  use 
of  these  expressions.  In  his  work  on 
grammar,  Bain  says:  'The  adverb  is 
placed  between  auxiliary  and  participle- 
'I  shall  never  forget  your  kindness';  'he 
has  carefully  studied  the  case. ' 

24,  Anticipate  and  Expect,   One  of  the  most 

frequent  errors  of  every  day  English, 
especially  in  newspapers,  is  the  use  of 
anticipate  in  the  sense  of  expect.  We  expect 
a  man  to  pay  his  debt  when  it  is  due;  but 
if  we  know  he  intends  to  abscond  we 
anticipate  him  by  putting  a  policeman  at  his 
door.  We  do  not  anticipate  a  good  time — 
we  expect  it. 

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25,  Some  Puzzling  Idioms,  There  are  some 
such  expressions  as,  "Italian  and  Chinese 
American  citizens, "  which  are  very  puz- 
zling. The  question  arises  whether 
hyphens  should  be  used  in  such  ex- 
pressions, and  how.  Such  sentences 
are  sometimes  erroneously  written  with  one 
hyphen,  as,  "Italian  and  Chinese- American 
citizens. "  The  sentence  is  proper  as  first 
written,  but  a  somewhat  more  discrimina- 
ting use  would  be,  '  Italian-  and  Chinese- 
American  citizens.'  In  expressions  like 
these  the  interrupted  compounds  are 
properly  written  with  hyphens.  *.  The 
reader  should  see  the  twenty-seventh  rule, 
under  the  heading  "General  Style  Card/ 
in  this  book. 

Another  queer  idiom  is  seen  in  the  ex- 
pression, "Erastus  P.  Rowe  is  at  his 
cousin,  Henry  Howe's."  Some  authors 
prefer  to  write  the  sentence  this  way: 
"Erastus  P.  Rowe  is  at  his  cousin's  Henry 
Rowe's."  The  first  form  is  the  better 
usage. 

"The  king  of  England's  lands"  is  an- 
other odd  idiom,  but  it  is  well  established. 

The  expression,  "his  six-year-old  son,' 
is  good;  but  a  queer  use  indorses  the  form, 
"the  four-months-old  baby.'     Why  months 
should  be  preferred  in  one  case  and  year 
in  the  other,  is  not  known. 

It  is  proper  to  say  favo-btt  machine,   six- 

30 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

foot  pole  and  fine-tooth  saw.  Such  idioms 
are  well  received  by  the  very  best  writers. 

26.   Shall  and  Will,  Should  and  Would,   Great 

errors  arise  in  the  use  of  auxiliaries.  Sim- 
ple futurity  is  expressed  as  follows:  I  and 
we  shall;  you,  he  (and  they)  will.  Will 
(or  volition)  is  expressed  thus:  I  and  we 
will;  you  (he  or  they)  shall.  In  the  first 
person  shall  expresses  simple  futurity;  but 
when  shall  is  applied  to  another  it  expresses 
compulsion.  In  the  second  and  the  third 
person  "toitt  expresses  simple  futurity. 
Should  and  would  follow  the  rules  that  gov- 
ern s#a#and  will.  In  official  letters  ad- 
dressed to  employees  fyill  is  sometimes 
used  in  place  of  shall,  for  politeness,  as: 
"You  will  go  to  New  York  at  once." 


3! 


The   Writer's   Blue   Book 


III. 
PUNCTUATION. 

It  should  be  said  that  punctuation  is  far 
from  being  an  exact  science,  for  few 
authorities  agree  where  all  the  marks 
should  be  placed,  and  few  writers  punctu- 
ate the  same  way. 

Most  rules  of  punctuation  are  more  or 
less  general,  subject  to  many  exceptions, 
and  likely  to  be  construed  one  way  by  one 
writer,  another  way  by  another.  However 
there  are  some  points  too  plain  for  dispute, 
and  they  should  be  mastered.  The  reader 
might  ponder  over  the  statement  of  an  old 
teacher  of  rhetoric,  "that  no  man  has  ever 
so  mastered  the  rules  of  punctuation  that 
he  is  able  to  punctuate  a  long  and  intricate 
manuscript  the  same  way  twice. " 

32 


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27,  The  Period,    At  the  end  of  every  sen- 
tence one  of  these  three  marks  must  ap- 
pear:   ?  !  • 

(a)  An    interrogation    point    when   a 
direct  question  is  asked.    How  are  you  ? 

(b)  An  exclamation  point  if  the  sen- 
tence is  exlcamatory.    0  Death!  where  is 
thy  victory? 

(c)  In   all   other   sentences   a  period. 
John  saws  wood.    Ducks  swim. 

Use  a  period  after  every  roman  numeral, 
unless  in  paging.  Gregory  IX.;  George 
III. ;  Napoleon  I. 

Use  a  period  after  every  contraction  that 
is  not  written  with  an  apostrophe;  as,  Wm. 
for  William;  Dept.  or  Dep.  for  department. 

Use  a  period  before  every  decimal  num- 
ber. .05  of  one  per  cent;  12.56. 

28,  The  Colon,    In  recent  years  the  use  of 
colons  has  been   restricted  a  great  deal, 
compared  with  old  usage. 

The  colon,  according  to  Teall,  should  be 
used  after  a  word  or  clause  introductory 
to  a  speech  (Fellow  citizens:);  a  letter 
(Dear  sir:);  a  statement  of  particulars 
(as  follows:) ;  or  a  quotation  of  a  long  sen- 
tence or  a  number  of  sentences  (The  writer 
said:  'We  shall  now  consider  the  subject 
in  detail,"  etc.) ;  and  before  a  short  quota- 
tion if  that  is  made  a  separate  paragraph. 

The  modern  rule  is  against  the  doubling 

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of  points.    When  an  abbreviation  precedes 
a  colon  (as  in  viz:)  drop  the  period. 

De  Vinne  says  the  colon  is  the  joint  or 
hinge  which  unites  the  members  of  the 
nominative  and  the  objective,  which  would 
seem  to  be  disconnected  if  the  colon 
were  omitted.  Example: 

Art  has  been  to  me  its  own  exceeding  great  reward : 
it  has  soothed  my  afflictions;  it  has  refined  my  enjoy- 
ments; it  has  endeared  solitude;  and  it  has  given  me  the 
habit  of  wishing  to  discover  the  good  and  the  beautiful 
in  all  that  surrounds  me. 

It  is  a  common  custom  to  use  the  colon 
to  express  time,  as  in  12:30  p.  m.  Some 
authorities  prefer  the  period,  but  long  use 
is  against  the  new  form.  It  is  the  writer's 
opinion  that  the  decimal  meaning  of  a 
period  in  proximity  to  figures  leads  to  con- 
fusion and  doubt  as  to  whether  time  is 
meant. 

29,  The  Semicolon,  Semicolons  are  used 
following  clauses  where  there  is  too  much 
of  a  break  in  the  sense  for  the  use  of 
commas,  and  not  enough  for  periods. 

The  semicolon  is  proper  in  sentences  of 
two  or  more  members,  ;  'when  each  mem- 
ber makes  a  distinct  statement,  with  some 
dependence  on  statements  in  the  other 
member  or  members. '  Here  is  a  common 
use  of  the  semicolon: 

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The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

President  Roosevelt's  record  of  work  for  the  year  is : 
Dne  hundred  speeches  delivered  in  America;  three 
thousand  letters  dictated  to  French  people;  four  hundred 
informal  talks  at  banquets, 

A  fine  example  of  the  use  of  the  semi- 
colon is  the  following  from  Teall: 

An  author  may  write  carefully;  he  may  use  the  clear- 
est language,  and  make  his  manuscript  conform  in  every 
detail  to  what  he  desires  to  have  in  print;  but  he  can 
not  be  sure  of  having  everything  right  in  print  unless  he 
reads  it  in  proof  with  equal  care. 

The  student  of  punctuation  should  read 
the  best  books  and  magazines,  noting 
the  punctuation  as  he  reads.  This  habit, 
and  long  practice  of  writing,  will  enable 
him  to  acquire  the  art  of  punctuation 
sufficiently  to  express  his  meaning  with 
fair  accuracy. 

30,  The  Comma,  The  modern  tendency  is 
to  punctuate  for  sense,  omitting  all  commas 
that  are  not  essential  to  clear  meaning. 
Under  this  rule,  '  'it  is  therefore  proper  to 
say  say  so  and  so,"  is  preferred  to  "it  is, 
therefore,  proper,"  etc.  "To  err  is 
human;  to  forgive  is  divine/  supersedes 
the  old,  "to  err,  is  human;  to  forgive, 
is  divine." 

Rules  are  of  considerable  value,  but 
practice  is  the  best  teacher  known.  iWll 
says  that  a  comma  should  be  inserted  after 
each  slightest  break  of  connection  in  the 

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'The' Writer's  Blue  Book 

grammatical  construction  of  a  clause  or 
sentence,  but  not  where  the  words  are 
closely  connected  in  sense. 

When  there  is  no  break  in  the  sense  no 
comma  should  be  used,  unless  necessary 
for  clearness  of  expression. 

Bardeen  says  the  comma  must  be  used 
to  separate  from  the  rest  of  the  sentence 
the  vocative  expressions— the  names  of 
persons  or  things  addressed.  Thus:  "I 
remain,  sir,  yours  sincerely."  "Honesty, 
my  son,  is  the  best  policy;  I  have  tried 
them  both. ' ' 

The  comma  is  used  to  separate  from 
each  other  words  of  the  same  part  of 
speech  and  in  the  same  construction,  when 
not  connected  by  conjunctions:  "A  still, 
small  voice.'  "He  was  wise,  honest, 
brilliant,  and  brave." 

Use  the  comma  when  words  are  more 
than  two  in  number;  as,  the  deed  was 
done  nobly,  bravely,  and  modestly. 

The  comma  is  often  omitted  (erroneously) 
before  the  conjunction  connecting  the  last 
two  words  of  the  series.  For  Example: 
Mary,  Helen  and  Julia  have  come.  This  is 
wrong  for  the  reason  that  there  is  no  per- 
son whose  name  is  Helen  and  Julia;  and 
again,  as  De  Vinne  says,  the  impression 
may  be  made  that  Helen  and  Julia  were 
travelers  with  each  other  and  not  with 
Mary. 

The  comma  should  go  after  each  but  the 

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The   Writer's   Blue   Book 

last  of  a  series  of  words  and  phrases  each 
of  which  has  the  same  connection  with 
what  follows. — TEALL. 

An  example  is  this:  writers,  printers, 
and  teachers  should  know  our  language 
better  than  they  do.  Another  exampe  is : 
plain,  well-punctuated,  and  otherwise  care- 
fully prepared  manuscript  is  desirable. 

Many  careless  writers  omit  the  last 
comma;  but  such  usage  is  very  slovenly. 
Indeed  it  should  be  said  that  there  is 
authority  for  the  use  of  one  more  comma 
than  in  the  example;  for  there  are  those 
who  insist  that  there  should  be  a  comma 
after  the  last  of  a  series  of  nominatives. 

Some  of  the  old  school  would  write: 
writers,  printers,  and  teachers,  should 
know  our  language  better  than  they  do. 

De  Vinne  gives  the  following  examples 
of  proper  punctuation,  which  the  reader 
will  do  well  to  study:  Ulysses  was  wise, 
eloquent,  cautious,  and  intrepid,  as  was 
requisite  in  a  leader  of  men.  Ease,  in- 
dulgence, luxury,  and  sloth  are  causes  of 
misery. 

Here  is  an  example  that  shows  the  great 
value  of  knowing  how  to  place  commas 
where  they  belong: 

The  prisoner  said  the  witness  was  a  thief. 
The  prisoner,  said  the  witness,  was  a  thief. 

The  insertion  or  omission  of  commas  in 

(37) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

such  sentences  sometimes  marks  the 
difference  between  a  libel  suit  and  a  repu- 
tation for  telling  the  truth. 

When  two  statements,  each  with  its 
own  subject,  verb,  and  object,  are  put  in 
one  sentence,  the  comma  should  be  used  to 
show  their  distinctiveness,  even  when  the 
sentence  is  very  short.— DE  VINNE. 

Here  are  two  examples :  Jacob  saw  Isador,  and 
Isador  saw  Aaron.  Roosevelt  abused  Democrats,  and 
Democrats  abused  Roosevelt. 

Good  writers  now  discard  the  ancient 
rule  that  commas  should  be  inserted  to  in- 
dicate pauses  of  the  voice  in  reading  aloud. 
Such  a  custom  makes  an  unsightly  page, 
confusing  rather  than  helping  the  reader. 

Use  commas  only  where  they  will  be  of 
service  in  unfolding  the  sense.  In  a  case 
of  doubt,  omit  the  comma.— DE  VINNE. 

31.  The  Dash,  The  dash  must  be  used 
when  a  sentence  is  broken  off  abruptly, 
by  interruption  or  otherwise.  Thus: 

"I  am  my  own  editor,  my  own  printer,  my  own 
proof-reader — "  "And  your  own  cook,"  broke  in  the 
office  devil. 

De  Vinne  gives  the  following  striking 
illustrations  of  the  great  power  and  beauty 
of  the  dash,  the  only  mark  proper  in  the 
examples: 

(38) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

Here  lies  the  great — false    marble  !     Where  ? 
Nothing  but  sordid  dust  lies  here. 

Thus  the  plot  thickens — but  I  weary  you, 

"The  decision  was  in  your  favor,  but — "  Here  the 
speaker  was  ordered  to  stop. 

The  dash  often  gives  additional  point  to 
language  in  which  there  is  an  anticlimax. 
Example: 

Thou  great  Anna,  whom  three  states  obey, 

Who  sometimes  counsel  takes — and  sometimes  tea. 

Another  frequent  and  proper  use  of  the 
dash  is  to  amplify  the  details  of  a  state- 
ment in  a  clause  not  parenthetical,  as: 

But  you — that  are  polluted   with  your  lusts,  that  are 
swollen  with  pride    and  wine — you   judge  it  straight  a 
thing  impossible. 

The  dash  should  be  used  to  show  the 
omission  of  part  of  a  word  or  name,  as: 


His  name  was   Judge of  the  town  of , 

and  it  was  evident  that  he  was  very  much  pleased  with 
the  show. 

The  dash  is  often  used  to  show  hesitation 
or  stammering,  as:  "But  you  see  that's 
the  tr— trouble;  he  has  no  m— m— mind  of 
his  own. ' 

The  dash  denotes  an  abrupt  change  in 
the  construction,  a  suspension  of  sense,  an 
unexpected  transition  in  sentiment,  cr  a 

(39) 


The   Writer's   Blue   Book 

sudden  interruption.    Here  is  a  common 
use: 

Cleveland,  Bryan,  Debs — where  are  they? 

Cobbett,  one  of  the  greatest  gram- 
marians the  world  has  ever  known,  con- 
demned the  dash  as  a  wholly  senseless 
mark  of  punctuation,  never  once  using  it 
in  his  book;  but  the  dash  has  been  a  recog- 
nized mark  for  many  generations,  and 
though  it  is  often  misused  it  has  its  place 
in  good  punctuation. 

One  should  never  use  a  dash  when 
commas,  parentheses,  or  other  marks  are 
needed.  Dashes  are  too  often  inserted 
when  the  writer  has  no  idea  what  marks 
should  be  used.  In  such  cases  they  have 
been  well  called  "marks  of  ignorance/ 

32,  Parentheses,  A  word,  phrase,  clause, 
or  sentence  inserted  where  it  has  no  con- 
nection in  sense  or  construction,  as  for 
explanation,  qualification,  or  any  similar 
purpose,  should  be  enclosed  within  marks 
of  parenthesis. — TEALL. 

The  following  will  illustrate: 

I  (the  writer)  think  this  a  good  rule. 

Bryan  (because  he  was  for  silver)  spoke  against  gold. 

In  many  instances  there  is  no  choice  be- 
tween commas  and  parentheses,  or  be- 
tween dashes  and  parentheses.  Here  are 

(40) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

some  further  illustrations  of  the    proper 
use  of  the  parenthesis 

Know  this  truth  (enough  for  any  man  to  know) :  God 
is  love. 

Left  now  to  herself  (which  was  pleasure  enough),  she 
painted  her  face,  using  double  mirrors  to  give  her  a 
good  view. 

A  comma  is  seldom  needed  before  the 
first  parenthesis;  it  should  go  after  the  last 
one.  De  Vinne  says:  "When  any  com- 
plete sentence  is  enclosed  by  parentheses, 
the  period  should  be  before  the  last  pa- 
renthesis, but  when  these  parentheses  en- 
close a  few  words  at  the  end  of  a  sentence, 
the  period  should  be  after  the  last  paren- 
thesis. " 

33.  Brackets,  An  insertion  not  merely 
disconnected,  but  having  no  effect  upon 
the  meaning  of  the  context,  should  be  en- 
closed within  brackets. — TEALL. 

Examples:  "Were  you  aboard  [on  the  train]  at  [the 
time  of]  the  collision  ? 

You  will  understand,  my  son,  that  I  must  tell  you  all. 
[Some  details  of  family  matters  are  here  omitted.] 
There  is  much  for  you  to  learn  from  my  letters. 

I  swear  that  I  was  naturalized  [here  state  name],  in 
Missouri. 

De  Vinne  says:  "Parentheses  always 
enclose  remarks  apparently  made  by  the 
writer  of  the  text.  Brackets  enclose  re- 
marks certainly  made  by  the  editor  or  re- 
porter of  that  text. ' 

(41) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

34.  The  Apostrophe.  The  apostrophe  is  a 
mark  of  elision,  meaning  a  striking  out. 
It  is  most  frequently  used  to  indicate  the 
possessive  case,  as  in  the  words  Emerson's 
home.  It  is  also  used — in  a  single  or  a  double 
form — to  mark  the  close  of  a  quotation. 

A  loose  way  of  omitting  the  s  in  such  ex- 
pressions as  "Bill  Banks'  house"  (mean- 
ing Bill  Banks's  house)  has  recently  crept 
into  certain  newspapers,  though  it  is  not 
sanctioned.  Consult  the  Century  and  like 
publications  for  the  correct  usage.  De 
Vinne,  Teall,  Bain,  Moon,  and  others  have 
promulgated  the  ancient  and  proper  rule 
that  when  the  sound  of  a  second  5  is  given 
in  speech  the  apostrophe  should  be  in- 
serted. Bain  says:  "We  say  St.  James's 
and  St.  Giles's,  Burns's  and  Douglas's." 
As  heretofore  stated,  this  is  the  style  of 
such  magazines  as  the  Century. 

Teall  is  also  a  stickler  for  the  5  whenever 
it  is  pronounced.  De  Vinne  is  equally  firm 
on  the  subject.  Though  many  scribblers 
write  all  sorts  of  possessives  by  merely 
adding  an  apostrophe  to  the  last  5,  as  in 
the  expression  "Spreckels'  newspaper,' 
the  weight  of  authority  is  against  such  a 

slipshod  manner  of  denoting  the  possess- 
ive case. 

The  apostrophe  indicates  the  omission  of 
letters  in  such  words  as  the  following: 
I'll  for  I  will;  I've  for  I  have;  'twas  for 
it  was;  the  Argonauts  of  '49;  the  spirit  of 
'51;  the  patriots  of  '76. 

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The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

35,  The  Place  for  Quote-marks.  It  is  some- 
times a  puzzle  where  to  place  quote- 
marks.  There  is  no  better  rule  than  that 
stated  by  De  Vinne.  He  says  that  the  clos- 
ing marks  of  quotation  always  should  be 
placed  after  the  comma  or  the  period  in  all 
places  where  these  marks  are  needed;  but 
the  fact  is  the  proper  place  of  the  closing 
marks  of  quotation  should  be  determined 
by  the  quoted  words  only;  they  must  in- 
close those  words,  and  no  more;  they  may 
be  before  or  after  the  points,  according  to 
the  construction  of  the  sentence.  ~  When 
the  quotation  makes  a  complete  sentence, 
put  the  quotation-marks  after  the  period 
at  the  end  of  that  sentence;  when  the  quo- 
tation is  at  the  end  of  but  a  portion  of  this 
sentence  which  terminates  with  a  colon, 
semicolon',  or  any  other  point,  then  put 
the  marks  before  the  point.  The  mark 
of  punctuation  intended  to  define  the  con- 
struction of  the  completed  sentence  should 
not  be  made  a  portion  of  the  fragmentary 
quoted  matter. 

36,  The  Hyphen,  The  hyphen  divides 
words  at  the  end  of  a  line,  but  it  also 
connects  compound  words  of  one  kind 
(others  being  written  in  solid  form) ,  and 
is  used  as  a  leader  line  to  connect  words 
or  figures  in  columns. 

For  the  use  of  hyphens  in  the  compound- 
ing of  English  words  we  commend  the  in- 

(43) 


Writer's  Blue  Book 

valuable  work  of  F.  Horace  Teall.  Mr. 
TealPs  book  is  to  compounding  what 
dictionaries  are  to  the  spelling  of  words. 
The  work  may  be  ordered  from  the  Crown 
Publishing  Co.,  of  San  Francisco. 


(44) 


Writer's  Blue  Book 


IV. 
CONCERNING  STYLE-CODES. 

37.  Before    discussing     the     use     of 
capital  letters  it  should  be  said  that  there 
are  many  differences  among  the  authorities. 
Furthermore  it  is  sometimes  difficult,  by 
reason  of  the  many  combinations  of  words 
in  different   meanings    and   grammatical 
uses,  for  a  writer  to  maintain  uniformity 
in   his    style.    Despite  these  conditions, 
every   writer   should   select  an  approved 
style  and  follow  it  as  closely  as  possible. 

38.  The   author  is  a   follower   of  the 
method   advocated   by    Theodore   L.    De 
Vinne,  the  eminent  authority  on  composi- 
tion  and   typography.    De   Vinne 's  code 
differs  in  many  respects  from  that  of  F. 

(45) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

Horace  Teall,  one  of  the  editors  of  the 
Standard  dictionary,  and  at  present  (Sep- 
tember, 1902)  one  of  the  editors  of  the  In- 
land Printer,  of  Chicago.  The  author  of 
this  work  has  the  word  of  the  manager  of 
the  Century  Company  that  the  Century 
and  the  Century's  printing  offices  have  no 
other  style-card  than  Mr.  De  Vinne 's  "Cor- 
rect Composition."  A  critical  examination 
of  the  Century,  however,  reveals  the  fact 
that  the  magazine  does  not  follow  De 
Vinne  in  all  respects.  For  example,  De 
Vinne  does  not  capitalize  state  in  such  a 
sentence  as,  '  'the  names  of  the  states  and 
territories  are  sometimes  abbreviated/ 
The  Century  follows  Teall' s  style  in  such 
cases,  setting  State  with  a  capital  initial. 
See  paragraph  45. 

39,  Many  of  the  salient  features  of  the 
De  Vinne  method  have  been  adopted  by 
the  Maritime  World,  a  monthly  magazine, 
of  San  Francisco.  Its  style-card  appears- 
in  pages  following  these  explanations,  and 
a  study  of  its  code  may  prove  an  assistance 
to  the  reader.  Aside  from  style-cards, 
however,  certain  fundamental  rules  should 
be  mastered. 

1.  Every  sentence,  every  line  in  poetry, 
and  every  proper  name  must  begin  with  a 
capital  letter. 

Difficulty  arises  in  applying  this 
simple  rule,  for  often  there  is  a  question 

(46) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

as  to  what  is  a  proper  noun.  A  state  (not 
any  one  in  particular)  is  not  capitalized  by 
De  Vinne;  but  Teall  capitalizes  the  word 
whenever  it  refers  to  one  of  the  United 
States.  Again,  Teall  writes,  "Cummings 
was  not  an  Assemblyman/'  De  Vinne 
would  not  use  a  capital  letter,  but  would 
write  assemblyman. 

2.  The  pronoun  I  and  the  interjection 
0   should   always   be   written  in  capital 
letters. 

3.  All  appellations  of  God  should  have 
capital  initials — Jehovah,  Lord,  Omnipotent 
Father.    But  pronouns  referring  to  God 
are   not   capitalized.    The   Bible  does  use 
capitals   for,    his,  htm,  fyhose,    etc.,  when 
these  pronouns  mean  God.    The  style  of 
capital   letters   in   this   sense  came  from 
ancient  hymnals. 

4.  Headlines,    words   in  legal  papers, 
posters,  cards,  various  forms  of   job  and 
display  work,  and  sometimes  words  used 
in    scientific    treatises   are   more   freely 
capitalized  then  when  the  same  words  occur 
in  letters,  books,  and  other  forms  of  more 
dignified  text. 

40,   Words  Preferred  in    Legal  Documents,   It 

should  be  said  that  in  legal  documents  and 
in  every  writing  of  formality,  as  well  as 
in  displayed  composition,  capitals  are  used 

(47) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

for  the  general  as  well  as  for  the  specific 
name,  as:  State  of  Missouri,  County  of 
Holt,  instead  of  state  of  Missouri,  county  of 
Holt,  which  is  the  preferred  form  in  ordi- 
nary text. 

De  Vinne's  rule  is  that  words  should 
always  be  preferred  for  numbers  as  well 
as  for  dates  in  legal  documents,  as  in 

This  indenture,  made  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  June, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
ninety-seven. 

Words  should  also  be  used  in  all  legal 
papers  for  the  statement  of  moneys  paid, 
as  well  as  for  the  measurements  of  land 
and  the  expression  of  values,  for  figures 
are  specially  liable  to  error,  alteration,  and 
misconstruction.  For  this  reason  state- 
ments of  numbers  plainly  intended  to  have 
special  distinction  should  be  in  words,  even 
when  they  appear  as  arabic  figures  in  ordi- 
nary writings.  Even  in  compact  writing 
the  use  of  spelled-out  words  instead  of 
figures  is  sometimes  obligatory.— From 
'  'Correct  Composition. ' ' 


(43) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 


V. 

THE  MARITIME  WORLD  CODE. 

41.  The  following  style-card,  used  by 
the  Maritime  World,  of  San  Francisco, 
is  based  almost  entirely  on  the  De  Vinne 
method,  as  heretofore  explained: 

1.  Unless  copy  is  clearly  wrong,  follow 
it;   but    master    these    rules,  which   are 
superior  to  copy.    The  editor  must  be  held 
to  the  rules;  if  he  departs  the  compositor 
may  correct  him. 

2.  Extracts   that  are    set  solid   or   in 
smaller  type  (single  space  on  typewriters) 
have  no  quote-marks. 

3.  When  we  quote   from   another   we 
quote    his  style  of  capitalizing,  spelling, 

(49) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

and  general  method  of  typography,  unless 
the  matter  quoted  is  either  edited  or 
marked  '  'follow  our  style/ 

4.  Capitalize  all  names  of  special  days, 
as:  Arbor  Day,  Labor  Day,  Black  Friday, 
Decoration  Day,  and  all  names  applied  to 
historic   days.    The   Restoration,  the  Ad- 
vent, and  Commencement  Day  are  further 
examples. 

5.  In  citing  a  newspaper  or  magazine 
the  definite  article  the  should  not  take  a 
capital  letter,  as  the  New    York  Herald, 
the   Liquor  Dealer.    But  The   goes  up  in 
book  titles.     '  "The  Life  of  Christ. ' ' 

6.  Capitalize     Board      of     Education, 
Society   for   the  Poor,  Assembly  of  New 
York,  and  the  leading  words  of  the  titles 
of  all  organized  assemblies,  corporations, 
etc.,  as:    Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany, Charitable  Association  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, Milpitas  Editors'  Club. 

7.  When   definite   titles   or  names  are 
shortened  like  the  Senate,  the  Club,  etc., 
meaning  a  particular  senate  or  club,  use 
capitals.    Likewise    where  the   State    or 
the  Government  means  one  in   particular, 
as   following   a   reference   to  California, 
capitals  should  be  used.    The  Union,  the 
Nation,  etc.,  follow  the  same  rule. 

8.  A  state,   a  senate  a  club,  should  not 
be  capitalized  when  not  specifying  some 

(50) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

particular  body.  All  such  words,  when 
preceded  by  the  indefinite  a  or  an,  take 
lower  case,  because  common  nouns. 

9.  Titles   preceding   names  go  up,  as: 
Engineer  Ryan,  Janitor  Jones;  but  in  James 
G.   Blaine,  secretary  of  state,  the  title  is 
kept  down.    Alexis,  grand  duke  and  envoy 
extraordinary,  is  another  illustration. 

10.  When  only  the  title  of  a  person  is 
named,  as  the  President,  the  Judge,  mean- 
ing  a   definite   person,  as   noted   by  the 
definite  article  preceding  it,  the  title  goes 
up,    as:    "Good     morning,     Governor,' 
meaning  Governor  Gage.    This  is  so  be- 
cause the   curtailed  expression  is  used  in 
lieu  of  a  proper  noun. 

11.  Two   capitals    are   not   needed   in 
compound       titles,       as:      Major-general 
Merritt,     Ex-president     Cleveland,     Ex- 
mayor  Lynch,  Ex-supervisor  Boxton 

12.  Salutations   go   punctuated  in  this 
way:    Dear   Sir: —    Ladies    and   Gentle- 
men:—    Fellow  Citizens: —    It  is  probably 
more  scholarly  to  omit  the  dash,  but  long 
use  approves  the  two  points. 

13.  This   usage    illustrates   the   rules: 
The  assembly  chamber  was  soon  filled  with 
senators  and  congressmen.   Senator  Brown 
asked  a  governor  to  drink  wine.    It  was 
Governor     Gage.    Then    the      Governor 
(meaning  Gage)  said  so  and  so.    A  high 

(51) 


'The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

court  of  chancery  is  not  capitalized,  but  the 
High  Court  of  Chancery  of  Goat  Island  is 
proper.  The  definite  article  indicates  the 
need  of  capital  letters  in  the  examples. 

14.  Creole,  negro,  mulatto,   quadroon, 
gipsy,  greaser,  and  like  disparaging  titles 
and  nicknames,  go  down.    This  rule  holds 
in  all  cases  of  like  names  applied  to  races. 

15.  Arctic,     Tropics,    Levant,    Orient, 
and  all  geographical  names  used  as  proper 
nouns   go  up;  but  nouns  used  to  specify 
merchandise   go   down,    as:  arctic   ivory, 
india  ink,  russia  leather,  morocco,  turkey 
red,  port  wine,  Chinese  blue.    When  words 
derived  from  proper  nouns  have  thus  lost 
the  direct  connection  or  literal  sense  of  the 
name  there  is  no  need  of  capitals. 

16.  Transatlantic,    transpacific,    hercu- 
lean, etc.,  go  down,  as  do  all  qualifiers  de- 
rived from  proper  names,  and  compounded 
with  prefixes  or  suffixes  in  a  similar  way. 

17.  East,  West  North,  South,  and  their 
compounds  (Northwest,  Southwest,  etc.), 
go  up;  but  when  used  to  define  the  points 
of  the  compass  only  they  go  down,  as:  it 
is  an  east  wind. 

18.  Bay   of   Fundy,  Straits  of  Dover, 
etc. ,  go  up,  also,  '  'he  made  a  trip  on  the 
Bay'    goes,   if  a  particular  bay  is  meant. 
The  short  expression  is  a  synonym  for  the 
complete  name. 


(52) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

19.  In     the    name     "state    of     New 
York,"  or   in   the  expression  "empire  of 
Germany,"    both    state  and  empire  thus 
used  go  down.    New  York  State  goes  up, 
because  state  in  this  sense  is  a  part  of  the 
name  of  the  organization. 

20.  All    religious    denominations    and 
political  parties  go  up,  whether  used  as 
nouns    or   as  adjectives:    Prohibitionists, 
Spiritualists,  Republicans,  Catholics,  Meth- 
odists.   The  Catholic  clergy,    the  Prohibi- 
tionist platform.    Not  so  of  pagan   and 
heathen.    Too  indefinite. 

21.  All   important  epochs   go   up,  as: 
Commencement    Day,    Middle   Ages,   Si- 
lurian Age,  etc. 

22.  Roman  letters,  italic  letters,  bowie- 
knife,  india-rubber,  and  like  expressions 
are  set  in  lower  case. 

23.  Direct  references  to  the  Bible  go 
up,  as:  the  Scriptures,  the  Gospels,  Holy 
Writ,  the  Word,  etc. 

24.  Everyone,    anyone,    onesself,  etc., 
are  not  set  as  one  word,  as  are  football, 
baseball,  and  steamboat.    Can  not  is  pre- 
ferred to  cannot.  »  One's  self  is  correct. 

25.  Choose    the    simplest   permissible 
spellings,  as:  traveler,  theater,  fulfill,  ful- 
ness, whisky,  instead  of  traveller,   thea- 
tre,   fullfill,    fullness,    whiskey.    Skilful, 

(53) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

wilful,  bazar,  draft,  and  drouth  are  pre- 
ferred forms. 

26.  When  in  doubt  consult  a  dictionary, 
or  choose  that  spelling  likely  to  give  the 
least  trouble  in  the  event  of  a  change  in 
proof. 

27.  Foot-,  top-,  and  side-notes,  quarter-, 
eighth-,  and  half -kegs,  base-  and  foot-ball. 
This   is   good   usage.    See     the   Century 
magazine  for  examples,  or  see  any  books 
published  by  the  Century  Company. 

28.  The   seasons   are   not   capitalized: 
winter,  spring,  summer. 

29.  Except  in  scientific  writings  these 
plurals   go:    Indexes,    cherubs,  formulas, 
seraphs,  beaus;  but  the  scientific  form  is: 
appendices  beaux,  cherubim,  formulae,  in- 
dices,   media,     seraphim,    and   vortexes. 
Executrices   and  administratrices  are  the 
only  plurals  known  for  executrix  and  ad- 
ministratrix. 

30.  Use   an   before   words  that   begin 
with  a  vowel  sound,  or  when  h  is   silent. 
Use  a.  when  words  begin  with  a  consonant 
sound,  or  with   a   vowel   preceded  by    a 
strong  aspirate,  as:  an  honor,  an  hour,  an 
heir,  an  adder,  an  herb;  but  a  eulogy,  a 
European,    a   unanimous,    a   universal,  a 
hotel,  a  humble,  a  historical,  a  hospital,  a 
ewe,  a  usurper. 

(54) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

31.  "Oh,  how  I  suffer!"  is  correct  as 
an  ejaculation  of  pain  or  woe;  but  "0  that 
I  had  the  speed  of  the  wind!"  as  an  ejac- 
ulation expressing  wish  or  desire. 

32  Farther  is  used  to  imply  distance; 
but  "I  have  no  further  use  for  ignorant 
clerks."  Further  means  besides,  or  addi- 
tional. 

33.  When  expressing  whole  numbers  in 
text,  spell  them  out  in  full.    The  ship  had 
one  hundred  passengers;  the  steamer's  dis- 
placement is  eighteen  thousand  tons. 

34.  April  20,  May  22;  but  if  the  number 
precedes   the  month  22d  of  April  is  pre- 
ferred to  22nd. 

35.  Second   Street  is   better  than  2d 
Street;  but  42  Second  Street  is  better  than 
Forty-two  Second  Street. 

36.  Do  not  capitalize  the  names  of  cen- 
turies.   The  best  magazines  run:  fifteenth, 
sixteenth,  nineteenth  centuries. 

37.  Pronouns  referring  to  God   (thee, 
thou,    thy,    he,  him,    and    his)    are   not 
capitalized  in  the  Bible.    Follow  the  Bible 
in  this. 

38.  Corporate  bodies  (including  states) 
defined  by  the  definite  article  the  need  a 
capital,  while  those  that  follow  the  indef- 
inite  article   a   or   an  should  not  have  a 
capital. 

(55) 


The. Writer's  Blue  Book 

39.  Capitalize    the    synonym   for   the 
name  of  a  dignitary:    Your  Honor;  Your 
Majesty;  Your  Excellency,  etc.    Any  name 
that    stands  in  lieu   of    a   definite   per- 
son, should  follow  the  same  rule. 

40.  All  personified  words  go  in  capitals: 
the   spirit   of   Fire;  War   stalked  abroad; 
Peace  spoke  to  the  nations;  a  youth  to  For- 
tune and  to  Fame  unknown;    Crime  ran 
riot;  Fate  smote  the  wretch. 

41.  Emphatic    quotations  go    up,    as: 
President    McKinley    himself  said,  Thou 
art  the  man;  the  editor  answered,  Your 
printers  were   all    drunk.    Fragmentary 
quotations  run  thus:    The  speech  was  de- 
scribed as  * 'truly  eloquent  throughout/ 

42.  Avoid  doubling  points,  but  this  is 
good:    "They  played  base-,  foot-,  hand-, 
and   town-ball."    In   Co's  (possessive)    a 
period  is  not  needed  after  the  o,  nor  after 
the  z  in  viz: 

43.  It  is  never  necessary  to  repeat  etc. 
Writing  etc.,  etc.,  weakens  the  sentence. 
Et  al  is  the  expression;  et  als — never. 

42,  Some  Examples,  The  following  cor- 
rectly written  sentences  illustrate  many  of 
the  rules  set  forth  in  the  foregoing  style- 
card: 


(56) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 
A  NIGHT  OF  HORRORS. 

It  was  Labor  Day,  but  there  was  a  cele- 
bration equal  to  that  of  the  Fourth  of  July. 
No  pagan  holiday  ever  surpassed  some  of 
the  heathenish  performances  there  en- 
acted. According  to  the  New  York  Herald 
Ex-president  Cleveland  was  there,  ac- 
companied by  Colonel  Hay,  secretary  of 
state.  The  President  of  the  United  States 
was  there,  and  various  ex-presidents'  mem- 
ories were  honored.  There  were  senators, 
assemblymen,  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  and  judges  from 
other  supreme  courts  in  the  throng — but 
not  one  from  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
state  of  Georgia,  or  from  New  York  State. 
David  Bennett  Hill  wore  an  arctic  coat 
from  the  Arctic.  During  the  evening  a 
German  sang,  and  a  gipsy  danced  a  jig. 
The  Orient,  the  Arctic,  the  Tropics,  and 
the  Levant  contributed  to  the  decorations. 
The  dances  were  on  a  brussels  carpet  di- 
rect from  Brussels,  according  to  the  word 
of  two  doctors  of  divinity  who  sat  near  six 
masters  of  art.  The  titled  gentlemen 
laughed  until  they  shook  down  a  bowl  of 
paris  green,  and  a  shelf  containing  china- 
ware.  The  Government  (or  Nation  or 
Union,  meaning  the  United  States)  was 
honored  by  Alexis,  grand  duke  and  envoy 
extraordinary,  who  presented  every  sena- 
tor and  every  judge  a  morocco  badge— two 

(57) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

badges  to  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  highest 
court.  A  governor  took  umbrage,  but  the 
Governor  of  California  took  native  claret; 
and  as  he  sipped  it  an  old  greaser  with  a 
nose  of  turkey-red  color,  who  looked  like  a 
ward  politician  from  the  Fourth  Ward  of 
San  Francisco,  disgraced  the  South.  Later 
a  breeze  sprang  from  the  east  side  of  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  and  cooled  off  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  empire  of  Germany,  much 
to  the  relief  of  the  German  Empire  itself. 
Every  man  present  hunted  for  his  bowie- 
knife,  except  a  Methodist  member  of  the 
Salvation  Army,  who  quoted  the  Gospels, 
speaking  often  of  God  and  his  Word,  the 
Holy  Writ.  The  Middle  Ages  would  have 
been  disgraced  if  such  italic  headlines  as 
our  papers  contained  had  ever  disturbed 
their  quiet  life.  It  was  a  wonderful 
demonstration,  even  for  a  night  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  Let  us  hope  that 
foot-,  side-,  and  end-notes  in  small  volumes 
of  history  may  tell  the  story  to  coming 
generations. 

43.  Thoughts  On  System,  Proof-reading  and 
typewriting  are  really  skilled  labor  of  the 
highest  order.  These  occupations  require 
acute  perception,  close  application,  and 
long  practice.  When  well  done  such 
services,  like  first-class  typesetting,  re- 
quire great  attention  to  details.  A 
thorough  system  (or  style-card)  is  really  es- 

(68) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

sential  in  every  properly  conducted  office. 
Employers  should  treat  faithful  workmen 
with  much  consideration,  for  good  workers 
are  scarce. 

One  of  the  safest  rules  for  typewriters 
and  proof-readers  to  insist  upon  is  that  the 
"0.  K.'  of  persons  who  write  names  be 
marked  on  proofs  whenever  this  check  is 
possible.  The  most  illegible  and  ignorant 
writers  are  usually  the  most  boisterous 
and  unreasonable  when  mistakes  are  made 
in  printing  or  typing  their  bad  manu- 
scripts. When  there  is  the  slightest  doubt, 
consult  the  author;  otherwise  look  closely 
to  the  context  for  sense. 

Refer  to  your  favorite  dictionary  often. 
Other  things  being  equal,  the  most  studious 
person  will  do  the  best  work.  A  well-used 
dictionary  is  a  pretty  fair  recommendation 
of  the  owner. 

On  behalf  of  printers  and  typewriters 
the  author  of  this  little  handbook  asks 
that  writers  take  pains  with  their  manu- 
scripts, remembering  that  a  good  general 
education  does  not  insure  careful  writing 
or  careful  penmanship. 

Professor  A.  S.  Hill,  Harvard's  eminent 
author  of  works  on  rhetoric  and  English, 
says  in  "Our  English ": 

"Every  year  Harvard  sends  out  men — 
some  of  them  high  scholars — whose  manu- 
scripts would  disgrace  a  boy  of  twelve; 

.(59) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

and  yet  the  college  can  hardly  be  blamed, 
for  she  can  not  be  expected  to  conduct 
an  infant  school  for  adults. ' 

Hill's  words  corroborate  the  statement 
that  the  art  of  preparing  copy  for  printers 
is  not  taught  in  universities.  Investiga- 
tion will  show  that  it  is  too  seldom  taught 
in  any  other  schools.  It  is  for  such  reasons 
that  good  will  come  from  the  study  of  this 
modest  little  compendium  of  a  few  simple 
rules  and  usages. 


(60) 


The  Writer's  Blue  Book 


VI. 

44,   How  Rules  Are  Often  Violated,   Though 

the  Century  Company,  the  Century  maga- 
zine, and  editors  high  in  authority  fol- 
low the  simple,  logical  rules  laid  down 
by  De  Vinne,  careful  readers  will 
find  many  lapses  and  inconsistencies, 
even  in  books  bearing  the  imprint  of  the 
Century  Company.  The  student  of  this 
little  manual  may  be  puzzled  some  time  by 
such  deviations;  as,  for  example,  in  the 
beautiful  volume,  "Sailing  Alone  Around 
the  World/'  by  Captain  Joshua  Slocum. 
Despite  such  instances,  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  the  rule  and  its  reason  re- 
main undisturbed.  The  editor  of  the 
BLUE  BOOK  knows  whereof  he  speaks,  and 
the  following  explanation  is  relevant: 
The  Century  Company  has  many  editors, 

(61) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

and  each  editor  has  notions  of  his  own  that 
printers  are  directed  to  follow.  While  all 
of  these  editors  accept  nearly  all  of  De 
Vinne 's  rules,  now  and  then  they  deviate. 
A  study  of  the  Slocum  book  (and  other 
works)  shows  that  the  neglect  to  capitalize 
Bay,  City,  Island,  etc. ,  when  the  word  re- 
fers distinctly  to  a  proper  name,  is  a  com- 
mon error— so  common  that  the  proof- 
readers find  it  a  waste  of  time  to  suggest 
to  editors  and  authors  the  need  of  a  capi- 
tal. Yet  De  Vinne  holds  stoutly  to  the 
correctness  of  the  capital,  as  explained  in 
these  pages.  Even  careful  editors  are 
often  overruled  by  authors.  The  Century 
printing  house  and  De  Vinne  can  not  be 
held  responsible,  with  justice,  for  some  of 
the  eccentricities  of  their  printing.  It 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  a  printer's 
business  is  to  do  what  he  is  told.  If  the 
reader  will  study  paragraph  I.  of  this 
book,  he  will  discover  other  reasons  than 
those  given  now  for  many  lapses  that  mar 
the  pages  of  almost  everything  that  is 
ever  printed. 


(62) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 


VII. 
DICTIONARY  OF  CAPITALS. 

45,  The  proper  use  of  capital  and  lower 
case  (small)  letters  is  shown  in  this 
alphabetical  list.  By  glancing  at  the  word 
desired,  examples  of  usage  will  be  found. 

The  reader  should  bear  in  mind  that  if 
he  does  not  see  the  exact  word  he  wants 
he  will  perhaps  find  one  of  the  same  type 
or  class.  For  example,  all  such  words  as 
judge,  president,  king,  governor,  mayor, 
director,  and  supervisor  are  governed  by 
one  principle.  All  are  titles,  and  an  illus- 
tration of  one  suffices  for  others.  Similar 
resemblances  will  suggest  themselves  to 
the  thoughtful  reader.  This  feature  of 
the  book  should  be  used  in  conjunction 
with  the  style-code  on  page  —  and  with 
frequent  reference  to  the  general  index. 

(63) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

A. 

Arbor  Day 

Ascension  Day,  in  Bible  sense. 

Almighty.    See  Deity. 

arctic  ivory,  etc.  See  merchandise  in 
general  index. 

the  Arctic 

algebra.    See  sciences. 

astronomy.    See  sciences. 

arabic  figures  and  letters. 

autumn,  unless  personified. 

Association,  church,  political,  and 
like  names,  go  under  one  rule, 
thus:  trustee,  councilman,  super- 
visor, judge,  congressman,  di- 
rector, secretary,  president,  gov- 
ernor, superintendent,  unless  the 
term  precedes  a  surname,  or  is 
used  in  lieu  of  the  surname.  The 
Tenth  Ward  Methodist  Church  is  its 
official  name,  and  it  is  a  Methodist 
church  in  fact.  If  the  title  used  in 
lieu  of  a  surname  may  be  applied 
to  two  or  more  persons,  select  a 
lower  case  letter.  This  is  De 
Vinne's  rule.  See  political  parties. 

Abbreviated  expressions  take  the 
capital  initial,  thus:  the  Club,  the 
Church,  the  Senate,  the  Company, 
the  City,  the  Chamber,  the  State, 
the  Nation,  the  Government,  when 
these  single  words  are  used  in  lieu 

(64) 


The  Writer's  Blue  Book 

of  the  full  names  of  the  organiza- 
tion. This  rule  would  give  the 
Union,  meaning  a  certain  typo- 
graphical union  previously  named. 

B 

Bank  Holiday 

Bible.  All  synonyms  take  the  capi- 
tal initial. 

the  Board  of  Education  of  Cleveland. 

a  board  of  education — none  in  par- 
ticular. 

Bay  of  Naples 

the  Bay,  when  synonymous  of  one  in 
particular. 

a  bay,  meaning  any  one. 

botany.    See  sciences. 

biology.    See  sciences. 

Baconian  philosophy,  because  with 
direct  reference  to  Bacon.  See 
herculean,  platonic.  Consult  gen- 
eral index. 


C 


Christmas.  Synonyms  follow  the 
same  style.  See  Yule-tide. 

city  of  New  York,  but  New  York 
City. 

a  city  of  Missouri 

this  City — one  previously  named, 

the  Chief -justice 


(65) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

an  aged  justice  or  a  former  chief  - 

justice, 
castile   soap.    See     merchandise    in 

general  index. 

china  goods,  china  silk,  etc.  See 
merchandise  in  general  index. 

cisalpine 

county  of  Holt,  but  Holt  County. 
See  counties. 

the  County,  meaning  one  in  par- 
ticular, in  lieu  of  full  name. 

a  county — any  one. 

Counties:  Holt  County  is  the  name 
of  the  political  division  or  corpora- 
tion, and  when  the  County  is  used  as 
a  shorter  expression  it  is  clearly 
a  synonym  of  the  full  name* 

the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
or  Congress. 

the  Congressman,  meaning  a  special 
one. 

Several  congressmen  and  senators 
were  there. 

conrgessman  illustrates  De  Vinne's 
rule  that  a  title  not  a  synonym  of  a 
specified  person  (one  only)  should 
not  begin  with  a  capital,  See  as- 
sociation. 

Centuries  take  a  lower  case  letter: 
fifteenth  century,  nineteenth, 
twentieth,  etc.  This  is  an  excep- 
tion to  the  rule  concerning  his- 
torical epochs. 

(66) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

chemistry,  same  as  algebra,  botany, 

and  other  sciences.    See  sciences. 
the  Constitution,  meaning  of  a  state 

of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  par- 

ticular society. 

the  Continent,  meaning  of  Europe, 
when  used  as  a  substitute  for 

the  full  name  of  any  other  conti- 

nent. 
coolie,  same  as  greaser,  negro,  and 

like  nicknames.    See  nicknames. 
canton,    same  as  state,  county,  city. 

See  these. 


Decoration  Day.  See  historic  names. 

Deity  and  all  substitutes:  Father, 
Son,  Holy  Ghost,  Lord,  Jehovah, 
Holy  Spirit,  Saviour,  Creator, 
Providence,  Heaven,  when  used 
for  God.  See  heaven  and  hell  for 
common  use. 

Democrat.    See  political  parties. 

delft 

the  Deluge 

a  dub  in  the  sense  of  a  ward  club. 

but  the  Sixth  District  Ward  Club,  its 
exact  name. 

devil,  as  an  exp.  stive;  but  Satan, 
Beelzebub. 

(67) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

-E 

the  East,  meaning  an  undefined  geo- 
graphical section. 

an  east  wind  blew 

the  Ex-president 

an  ex-president,  ex-mayor,  ex-gov- 
ernor, etc. 

Erie  Canal 

the  earth.  Though  the  name  of  a 
definite  planet,  this  word  is  not 
capitalized.  It  is  a  clear  exception 
to  the  rule. 

F 

Fast  Day 

the  Flood  of  the  Bible 
Fourth  of  July 

Father,  meaning  God.    See  Deity, 
fall  of  the  year,  except  when  person- 
ified. 


Good  Friday 

God  in  every  sense,  but  the  gods  of 

fable.    See  Deity, 
the  General  when  referring  to  one  in 

particular.    See  official  titles. 
a    general,    any    one.    See    official 

titles, 
grammar,  same  as  botany,  chemistry, 

and  other  sciences. 

(68) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

the   Gospels,    and    all   like   terms: 

Scriptures,  Holy  Writ,  the  Word. 
the  Governor,  when  in  lieu  of  his 

name,  or  meaning  one  in  particu- 

lar. 
a  governor,  meaning  any  one.    See 

official  titles. 


Holy  Spirit,  but  see  Deity 

Historic  names,  thus:  Civil  War, 
Commencement  Day,  Lord's  Day, 
Silurian  Age,  Dark  Ages,  the 
Deluge,  the  Victorian  Era,  the  Re- 
naissance. Others  suggest  them- 
selves to  the  reader. 

herculean,  meaning  full  of  strength, 
and  unless  direct  reference  is 
made  to  Hercules  and  his  age. 

hell  and  heaven.    See  Deity. 

House  of  Commons 

House  of  Lords 

heathen 

Hades  and  like  poetical  names  of  a 
future  abode. 

Holy  Writ.    See  Deity. 


india  ink.  See  merchandise  in  gen- 
eral index. 

india  rubber.  See  merchandise  in 
general  index. 

italic  letters 

(69) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

the  Island,  meaning  Long  Island,  or 
any  one  previously  named;  the 
Islands,  meaning  a  special  group 
previously  named  or  suggested. 
The  various  islands  of  the  sea, 
however. 

J 

Jesus  Christ 
Jehovah.    See  Deity. 


a  king,  but  the  King.    See  associa- 
tion. 


Labor  Day.    See  historic  names. 
Lady  Day.    See  historic  names. 
Lord.    See     Deity,     Jesus    Christ, 

God,  etc. 
the  Levant 
A  lord  and  a  lady,  but  the  Lord. 

See  association. 

M 

a  mayor,  president,  lord,  governor, 

czar,  etc.    See   association,    gov- 

ernor, official  titles. 
the  Mayor,  King,   President,   Czar, 

Governor,  etc.    See  above. 
morocco  goods.    See  merchandise  in 

general  index. 
the  Manager.    See  official  titles. 

a  manager.    See  association  and  offi- 
cial titles. 

(70) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 


New  Year's 

the  North,  meaning   an   undefined 

geographical  section. 
a  north  wind. 
Northeast,  Northwest,  etc.,  follow 

same  rule. 
Nicknames:    Creole,  negro,  mulatto, 

gipsy,    quadroon,   greaser,  coolie, 

peon,  and  like  nicknames  do  not 

begin  with  a  capital. 
Nation,  when  in  lieu  of  the  United 

States  or  any  other  particular  gov- 

ernment.   See  state,  etc. 
a  nation  of  workers,  however. 
nature   ordinarily,   except   when  in 

lieu  of  God.    See  Deity. 
negro.    See  nicknames. 
Nature   when   used   for  God.    See 

Deity. 

O 

oriental  silk.  See  merchandise  in 
general  index. 

the  Orient 

the  Occident 

Offiicial  titles:  mayor,  judge,  jus- 
tice, king,  governor,  and  the  like 
follow  one  rule,  as  do  the  terms 
treasurer,  secretary  of  state,  etc. 
If  they  precede  the  name  of  one 
person  (not  of  two  or  more)  they 


(71) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

take  the  capital  initial.  If  they 
follow  a  name  or  are  preceded  by 
the  indefinite  article  a  they  need 
no  capital.  The  name  of  the  office 
is  never  written  with  a  capital  in 
this  sense:  He  ran  for  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  peace,  president, 
governor,  mayor,  etc.  See  asso- 
ciation, and  consult  index  under 
the  term  style-code,  etc. 


a  president.    See  official  titles. 

the  President,  Czar,  King,  Governor, 
Mayor,  etc.  See  official  titles  and 
association. 

Prussian  blue.  See  merchandise  in 
general  index. 

purgatory 

paradise,  except  the  Paradise  of 
John  Milton. 

Parliament.  Same  as  Congress.  See 
association. 

platonic  follows  herculean  and  Ba- 
conian. If  meaning  direct  refer- 
ence to  Plato  or  his  system,  capital- 
ize; if  meaning  merely  wise,  write 
platonic.  See  herculean. 

Political  parties:  Nationalist,  Popu- 
list, Radical,  Tory,  Democrat,  Pro- 
hibitionist. Adjectives  of  the 
same,  same  rule. 

(72) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

Personification:  Anything  may  be 
personified,  and  all  personified 
words  should  be  capitalized,  as: 
the  spirit  of  Fire;  the  voice  of 
Crime;  the  call  of  Duty;  the  ghost 
of  Want. 

Pronouns  standing  for  Deity  go 
thus:  his  wisdom;  him  we  fear; 
thou  God;  thy  Word;  thee  we 
adore.  This  is  Biblical  use. 

Q 

Queen.  See  king,  president,  gov- 
ernor, official  titles,  etc. 


russian  leather.  See  merchandise  in 
general  index. 

Religious  denominations:  Catholics, 
Protestants,  Jews,  Mohamme- 
dans, —  but  pagan  and  heathen,  for 
these  terms  are  too  indefinite  to 
take  the  capital. 

Republican.    See  political  parties. 

rhetoric.    See  sciences. 


8 


Saviour    is  the   approved    spelling 

when  referring  to  Jesus  Christ. 
a  senate 
the  Senate  of  Illinois 

(73) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

the   Society   for   the  Prevention  of 

Vice,  and  like  names 
a  society  for  prevention  of  vice 
the  Southern  Railroad 
a  southern  railroad 
a  state  of  the  United  States 
the  State,  meaning  California;  but 

the  state  of  California.  See  states, 
the  South,  an  undefined  geographical 

location 
The  Southeast.    Same  as  South. 

a  south  wind 

States:  the  state  of  New  York,  the 
empire  of  Germany;  but  New  York 
State,  the  German  Empire,  because 
the  official  names.  The  Southern 
States,  the  Northern  States,  but 
the  states  and  territories  of  the 
United  States. 

Sciences:  All  references  to  algebra, 
botany,  geometry,  chemistry,  and 
like  names  of  science  are  written 
without  the  capital  initial. 

Streets:  First  Street,  Sixty-first 
Avenue,  etc.  Second  Corps. 

Seasons:  The  seasons  are  not  capi- 
talized, unless  in  personification. 

spring  is  here 

summer  has  departed 

the  Scriptures.  See  Bible  and  Gos- 
pels. 

(74) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

T 

the  preceding  the  name  of  a  news- 
paper or  magazine  is  not  capital- 
ized: the  Herald,  the  Century,  but 
in  books  it  goes  in  capital  initial; 
as,  "The  Life  of  Emerson.' 

the  Tropics 

tropical  plants,  tropical  weather,  etc. 

turkey  red.  See  index  under  mer- 
chandise. 

Titles:  It  is  as  proper  to  say  Scaven- 
ger Smith  or  Barber  Brown  as  to 
say  Judge  Jones  and  President 
Roosevelt.  All  such  titles  as  di- 
rector, manager,  weigher,  in- 
spector, and  like  names  follow  the 
general  rule.  See  association  and 
official  titles.  Consult  index. 

a  township.  See  county,  associa- 
tion, etc. 

transatlantic 

transpacific 

IT 

universe 

the  Union,  meaning  the  United 

States, 
the  Union,  meaning  one  organization 

in  particular,  or  when  used  in  lieu 

of  the  full  name. 


(75) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 
W 

Whitsunday 
Whitsuntide 

the  West,  meaning  an  undefined  geo- 
graphical section, 
a  west  wind 
a  ward  meeting 
the  Sixth  Ward  politicians 
the  wards  of  the  city 
Winter.    See  seasons. 


Your  Grace 

Your  Honor 

Your  Majesty 

Your  Reverence 

Your  Royal  Highness 

Yule-tide.    See  Christmas. 

Z 

zoology.    See  sciences. 

the  zodiac 

the  zenith 

Zeus,  the  Greek  god 


(76) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 


VIII. 
FORMS  OF  ADDRESS. 

46,  Every  typewriter,  indeed,  every 
educated  person  in  the  world,  should 
know  the  correct  forms  of  address.  The 
writer  has  had  reason  to  know,  however, 
that  few  persons  have  ever  mastered  even 
the  elementary  forms.  The  following  list 
is  approved  by  the  best  writers,  and  sanc- 
tioned by  Harper  &  Brothers,  the  eminent 
New  York  publishers: 

Married  Lady.— Mrs.  John  Jones. 
Madam.  Dear  Madam. 

Unmarried  Lady.— Miss  Nellie  Jones. 
Madame.  Dear  Madame,  or  Miss,  or  Dear 
Miss.  Two  unmarried  ladies  are  addressed 
as  "The  Misses ."  Mesdames. 

Gentlemen. — John  Jones,  Esq.,  or  Mr. 

(77) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 

John  Jones.  Sir.  Dear  Sir.  My  Dear 
Sir.  To  a  close  friend  one  may  send  the 
address,  My  Dear  Jones. 

Clergy  of  all  Denominations. — The  Rev- 
erend Joseph  E.  Scott.  Sir. 

Dean. — The   Very    Reverend   the  Dean 

of .    Sir. 

(The  term  honorable  is  confined  to  heads 
of  the  great  executive  departments,  judges 
of  the  United  States  courts,  senators  and 
representatives,  governors  of  states,  and 
mayors  of  cities.  It  is  improper  to  thus 
designate  the  chiefs  of  bureaus,  and  other 
subordinates.  In  official  communications 
the  official  designation  only  should  be  em- 
ployed.) 

The  President.— To  the  President.  Mr. 
President. 

The  Vice-president.— To  the  Vice-presi- 
dent. 

Heads  of  Cabinet  Departments. — To  the 
Secretary  of  State,  War,  Navy,  etc. 
Wives  of  such  officers  are  addressed  thus: 
Mrs.  Postmaster-general  Blair;  Mrs.  At- 
torney-general Jones. 

Senators. — Hon.  George  F.  Hoar,  U.  S. 

Senate,  or  Senator  of  the  United  States. 
Senator. 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives.— To  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives.  If  the  letter  is  personal, 
thus:  Hon.  Thomas  B.  Reed,  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives.  Mr. 
Speaker. 

(78) 


The   Writer's   Blue   Book 

Representatives. — Hon.  William  Cow- 
herd, Representative  from  Missouri,  or 
House  of  Representatives.  Informally  it 
should  run:  Hon.  William  Cowherd,  M.  C. 

Chief  Justice. — To  the  Chief  Justice. 
If  the  letter  is  personal:  Mr.  Chief 
Justice. 

Associate  Justice.  —  Mr.  Justice  John 
Brown. 

Judges  of  the  United  States  Courts.— 
Hon.  Joseph  McKenna,  Judge  of  the  U.  S. 
Circuit  Court. 

Governor.— To  the  Governor.  In  some 
states:  His  Excellency,  the  Governor. 

Mayor. — To  the  Mayor.  Hon.  Mayor  of 
New  York. 

Foreign  Diplomatic  Representative. --To 
His  Excellency,  the .  Your  Ex- 
cellency. 

Bishop. — To  the  Rt.  Rev. -. 

King  or  Queen. — To  His  (or  Her)  Most 
Gracious  Majesty.  May  it  please  Your 
Majesty. 

Royal  Family. — To  His  (or  Her)  Royal 
Highness.  Prince  (or  Princess).  May  it 
please  Your  Royal  Highness. 

Duke.— To  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Fife. 
My  Lord  Duke. 

Duchess. — To  Her  Grace  the  Duchess  of 
Fife.  Your  Grace.  A  duke's  daughter  is 
addressed  as  Lady. 

^^\~\  B  R  A  ?rp^*3 

• 

I   UNIVERSITY 

OF 

(79) 


The   Writer's  Blue  Book 
ALPHABETICAL    INDEX. 

The  References  are  to  Pages  of  This 

Book. 

Abbreviations,  when  bad 21 

Anticipate  and  expect 29 

Apostrophe,  use  of 42 

Articles,  the,  and  clarity 17 

Bad  forms, 20 

Brackets,  use  of 41 

Capitals,  use  of 63 

Colon,  use  of 33 

Comma,  use  of 35 

Dash,  use  of 38 

Dickens  on  proof-reading 12 

Dictionary  of  Capitals 63 

Direct  style  valuable 14 

Division  of  words , 26 

Double  possessives 24 

Ellipsis,  a  study  in 25 

Errors  in  all  writing 8,  10 

Expect  and  anticipate 29 

Figures  and  titles .........    19 

Had  rather,  would  rather 29 

Have  never  been 29 

Hyphen,  how  used 43 

Idioms  that  puzzle 30 

Legal  documents,  style  of  47 

Location  of  tense 26 

(80) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

Might  is  never  future ^7 

Modern  Methods 8 

Merchandise Rule  15  on  page  52 

Never  have  been 29 

Newspaper  blunders 15 

Nouns  in  the  possessive   24 

Number  of   verbs 28 

Of  which,  whose,  that 23 

Parenthesis,  use  of 40 

Per,  bad  use  of 17 

Period,  use  of 33 

Possessive,  double 24 

Proof-reading  essential 12 

Punctuation  useful 12 

Quote-marks,  where  placed 43 

Rules  violated,  how 61 

Semicolon,  use  of 33 

Shall  and  will 31 

Should  and  would 31 

Singular  and  plural  verbs 18 

Style-codes 45  to  58 

Style,  value  of  direct 14 

System,  use  of 58 

Syllabication 26 

Superfluous  words i3 

Tense,  location  of 26 

That  and  who t    22 

That  and  whose 23 

Titles,  figures,  etc 19 

Varying  plurals 19 

Verbs,  number  of.  28 


(81) 


The   Writer's   Blue  Book 

Whose,  of  which,  that 23 

Who  and  whom 27 

Who  and   that 22 

Whether  or  not,  whether  or  no 28 

Will  and  shall 31 

Would  and  should 31 

Words  always  plural 18 

Would  rather.  29 


OF  THE 

UNIVERS 

OF 


(82) 


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